Raving Rivers
by ChaoticKinkyCola
Summary: There is a new Dog Demon in Sesshomaru's territory. How will he handle her competition?
1. The Arrival

_Alright, this is my very first fanfiction about Inuyasha. So bite me already. Its not gonna be all that great, but tried._

_Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything relating to Inuyasha in ANY way. Although, the character Kisai s my own. Along with this plot. _

_Sesshomaru and Rin might go in and out of context but im trying to keep it as in-context as I can with their personalities. No flamers PLEASE, Im new and im trying, alright? So enjoy the intro chapter. _

"can you hear the calling of the raving wind and water?

we just keep dreaming of the land 'cross the river

we are always on the way to find the place we belong

wandering to no where, we're paddling

down the raging sea

who can cross over such raving wind and water?

on the rolling boat we sit, shivering with coldness

come by an island, come by a hillock,

it's just another place, we paddle on

down the raging sea

but in one morning we'll see the sun

bright shining morning dew singing

they who will search will find the land

of evergreen

can you hear the calling of the raving wind and water?

we just keep paddling down the sea, up the river

no destination, but we are together

in the silent sadness we're paddling

down the raging sea

down to no where"

The somber song of a soul coming home to a place that holds no hope echoes over the sea, like the cry of a siren. A tall girl lookes out over the railing of the boat as her voice trailes off. A sigh escapes her pale lips as she stares fondly at the coast of Japan. The Feudal Eera still ruled, or so she had heard. The girl hadn't been there in a few years, having left her human foster parents when they fist found they were pregnant with their first little mortal child. They said they were going to name her Rin, and she figured she would come home to visit them. The new mainland that the girl had found in the far East on her journeys was filled with nothing but sheltered demons with egos to match the size of their island. It was truly enormous compared to the little island that so many creatures called home.

She sighed again and walked from the railing and turned her back to the sight of land that the crew of demons so happily shouted about even though they all knew the other had seen it already.

"Useless little oni." She sniffed in a musical voice, heading towards the main mast of the ship and leaping half-way up into the rigging. Quickly climbing the rest of the way into the crow's nest, kicking the fox demon from his post, she scanned the horizon. The kitsune demon yelped as her booted foot contacted solidly with the side of his head and he plummeted towards the deck and hit with a sickly crunch. The crimson eyed girl heard cries of elation and, looked down upon the scene of gluttony below. The demonic crew couldn't help but feed on the freshly weakened meat of their crew-mate. She snarled deep in my throat and they all froze, blood dripping from their fanged mouths.

"Get back to your post before I slaughter you all, you useless lumps of flesh!" She shouted, eyes flashing a deep red as a strand silver hair fell over one shoulder as she bent down to be better heard. They all nodded hastily and scurried off to their respective jobs.

"Aya…" The girl muttered, leaping down to deck level with a light thud, and stormed over to the already stinking corpse of the thin kitsune. Holding out a hand, a shovel was immediately brought. The Captain hooked the flat end under the disemboweled portion and flicked it easily off the port side of the boat. Blood spread like an oily film over the water and she wondered passively if sea demons would be attracted. The thought was immediately banished for a powerful Daiyokai like herself could not be even bothered by a weak sea oni. A smirk curled itself onto her pale face and a soft chuckle shook her shoulders. The first mate walked over, his amber eyes lowered to the deck.

"Lady Kisai? Ma'am?" He mumbled, wringing his clawed hands nervously. She barely glanced over at him.

"What is it?"

""Uhm, we have received word from the bat demon spy that Totosai no longer resides in the volcano you pointed out to him. I am sorry my Lady." He cringed as if she were about to strike him. It must have shown in her eyes because the thought had truly crossed her mind. Kisai merely shrugged however, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"My little Tessin. You should not cower before a fellow Dog Demon. Always have pride and courage in the face of everything. Just because your Crescent has not appeared yet does not mean that you are less of a great bloodline than myself. We are the same as the Honorable Ruler, Inu No Taisho, just not as developed in our powers yet. All Dog Demons should have great pride during this time." She said smiling warmly for once. Tessin, however, paled.

"Y-you know?!" He cried softly, his voice as broken as his spine. His Lady retraced her claws, removing them from the half-breed's back.

"I am your Lord. How could I not sniff out one such as yourself? Actually all on this ship are half-breeds. This way I have removed the scourge form the new land and I have something to kill to release all this pent up energy before I go looking for the Sword Smith."

Kisai the Dog Demon Scourge of the East let her first mate fall the to ground in a heap. A mortal watching from a dock on the shore would have seem flashes of light then a fire burst out on the deck of an incoming vessel. The child then saw an orb or blue light leap from the mast and shoot off across the land, training behind it the smell of blood.

"DEMON!"


	2. Memories

_Okay, __im__ so hyper right now I figured __id__ add another chapter tonight. I know that the last one was __kinda__ shoddy, but __Im__ working on getting better, so work with me here. _

_DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own anything having to deal with the __Inuyasha__trademark, except for my character __Kisai__. She is mine. Well, her name is anyway. _

_OH! One other disclaimer, the song in the beginning of the last chapter is also NOT MINE!!! Credit goes to the musical mastermind who wrote the songs for the __show ./__/Hack Sign. THAT is where I got it from, NOT my own…I don't need to be sued. _

_THANKS and enjoy this newest addition to Raving Rivers._

"Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going this time?" An insistent Rin questioned from the back of Ah-Un. The double headed dragon snorted and one head shook, as if in exasperation.

"Hush yourself child, or Lord Sesshomaru might just leave you behind one of these days if you keep pestering him." Jakken snapped, waving his Staff of Heads threateningly. Rin rubbed her head, already sporting one lump from the green imp. She stared after her Lord again in wonder, this time remaining silent. She itched to reach out over Ah-Un's head and to stroke the silky fur that seemed to sprout from Sesshomaru's shoulder, but she knew if she did Jakken would get furious, and she was afraid that Lord Sesshomaru might actually leave her behind. She had ventured to ask him once to remember her when she died, but he had simply said not to say such silly things, dismissing it entirely.

Rin sighed, her child's mind, unable to focus for long periods of time, floated off, her eyes following a butterfly. She thought back to a very pretty butterfly she had seen in her village, just outside the fish reservoir. That brought back the painful memory of how her parents and her village were all dead, she the last remaining survivor.

_'Though, I could have sworn I died somewhere. I think it had something to do with wolves…__I tripped…and they caught up to me….then the next thing I remember is looking up into Lord Sesshomaru's face. __I __cant__ really remember what happened and whenever I ask Jakken he goes off ranting about how Lord Sesshomaru doesn't care about him.' _ Rin thought blandly, looking down at her little green travelling companion. She shrugged and pulled at her kimono, staring up at the sky, her mind wandering off again. Her mind was rather blank for once when she saw a pale blue orb flash by, casting a shadow over the little group as it dove down towards the tree line.

"Ah! What was that? Lord Sesshomaru, Lord Sesshomaru, did you see it? What about you Jakken?" Rin shouted, pointing wildly where the orb fell out of view. She fell silent when Sesshomaru turned to look where she pointed. One of his golden eyes trailed back to give her a stern look that froze the words in her throat.

"Yes, Rin. Of course I sensed it. It was a demon, a rather powerful one too. We had best take the left fork up here further; I would rather not have to dirty my hands today. I finally got the smell of that filthy Inuyasha off Tokjin; I don't want another's blood staining it for the next few moons." He said in his low, monotone voice. His face remained a neutral mask of impassiveness as his eyes trailed lazily back foreword to the dirt trail they walked on.

"Very good thinking, Lord Sesshomaru! We had best not test your strength! You pressed yourself pretty hard against Inuyasha, barely getting away without a scratch. Ah, not that you weren't a match for that stinking half-breed, Inuyasha ! Just because you have never succeeded in taking the Tetsusaiga. Dopesnt mean that you are not at least his equal…" Jakken said pompously. By the end of his little speech, however he as cowering and looking up at his Lord, who had drawn the Tenseiga and was glaring vehemently down at his little green ward.

"Ah, noo, my Lord, my, Lord, don't- AAHHHH!" Jakkens begging was cut off by a swift slice by Sesshomaru's sword, appearing to cleave him in half.

"Get up Jakken, just learn when to hold your tongue . Once again, you are not dead. This sword is utterly useless. However, you two go to the left and I shall go investigate this new arrival into my territory. The demon smelled of dried blood and exhaustion. We are not that far inland yet so that makes no sense. I will be right back. Rin, stay with Jakken." Sesshomaru instructed, now in a foul mood. Not that you could tell from his face or his words, simply by his sudden change in idea about fighting.

"Y-yes my lord…" Jakken muttered from the ground. By the time he got around to sitting up out of his pool of self-pity Ah-Un and Rin had already made it half-way to the fork in the road. "H-hey! Wait up for my you insolent child! Lord Sesshomaru said to stay with me! If anything happens to you, Lord Sesshomaru will have my head!"

Rin giggled, then looked off after her Lord. Her smile faded as she realized why the memories of her family came to mind. They were traveling past her old village. The orb had landed in the direction of her home, and she wondered if it was just a coincidence or not.

"Ah, well. Lord Sesshomaru always comes back in the end." Rin said, and began to sing a little tune to herself and Ah-Un.


	3. Confrontation

_Alright, I don't really have anything to say this time except, thank you for the reviews guys, I appreciate it. _

_DISCLAIMER: __I do NOT own anything having to deal with the __Inuyasha__trademark, except for my character __Kisai__. She is mine. Well, her name is anyway._

As Sesshomaru sprinted through the forest towards the fallen circle of light, the source of that unearthly glow was struggling to sit up where she crash landed.

"Damn it all. I knew it would take a while to recuperate, but I didn't think my land legs would take so long to kick in." Kisai sighed, flopping back on the ground in the mini crater she had made when her energy and been released without control from her tired body. Her silver hair fell in waves from her head and light lines circled under the bottom of her eyes. Her clothes, while strange in style, still wrinkled like other fabrics and were soiled with blood and soot. She sat up, able to do that without becoming dizzy, and tried to brush the worst of the smut off her leather shirt. The thing had no sleeves and was clasped around her neck with a circle in the center of her chest, where her collar-bones met. It was dyed a dark green and the blood, though dried, still showed brilliantly crimson. Her skirt was a hefty, stubborn fabric that most sailors wore for outer coats, but that she had hacked into a suitable shape to wear in a slanted fashion. The lowest part was at mid-calf while the highest part was at mid-thigh. Under the skirt she wore chain mail that had the aura of possessed demon armor and it showed all the way down to her knees where her boots started. All of this was worn and slightly duller than the normal Japanese wear.

Kisai finally finished playing with her outfit and looked around, nostalgia tugging at her heart.

"Its been a while. Wait, where is everybody? This place was teeming with little humans the last time I was here. They couldn't have up and moved in just a few years, could they?" She said to herself, standing up with a slight wobble. She looked around her more closely before blinking in shock. She was on the southern end of the village, apparently having overshot some in her haste. Before her were rows after rows of graves, each marked with an old bundle of flowers.

Her heart, while cold, as most demons were, sunk to the soles of her feet. Her already pale face became a sickly pallor and she ran towards her old family's hut, dreading what she knew she would find. The hut that she had grown up in, the hut that had held members of the family she had guarded for a few generations, was in terrible shape.

Worn by weather and what seemed to be a raving lunatic with some sharp implement, one wall had completely collapsed, the roof hanging at an odd slanted angle. Kisai walked over in a haze of shock and a tint of horror. The painting that had been hung of her and her latest wards had been waterlogged so bad that the picture was no longer identifiable.

"Aya…I wonder what happened here…" She sad, asking the worn-out old beams for answers she knew she would probably never find. Suddenly she smelled an old mortal sneaking about the outside of her home, heading towards the woods.

A vertical leap out through the rotted roof allowed Kisai to see a wrinkled old woman trying to sneak out of the village and to the relative safety of the shaded forest.

"Hold it! Stay where you are human! I have some questions for you!" Kisai cried, allowing herself to plummet back down to earth. She landed on one of the standing walls and vaulted off it, sending it crashing to the ground, and herself flying towards the terrified little woman.

"Ahhh! Demon! Please, spare my life! Wait….little Kis?" The woman had fallen back and was shielding her face with her arms when she peeked through them and she beamed when Kisai came closer. Kisai skidded to a halt and stared down at the little almond faced woman in confusion.

"Do you….how do you know my name, old lady?" She said, her crimson eyes narrowing as she squinted down at the woman in front of her. Something about her little mouse eyes pulled at an old memory, but it did not connect with anything. She looked up, trying to pull the elusive little memory out of her subconscious. She suddenly felt something tighten around her waist, and her hair rose like hackles and she snarled, looking down. Then she blinked, startled to see the little woman embracing her warmly.

"W-what are you doing old lady?! Get off me this instant or I shall kill you where you stand!" She snarled, wrenching herself from the woman's grasp. The older lady chuckled.

"Well I see your temperament hasn't changed at all, little Kisai. I remember when you watched my niece and reacted to her hugs the same way. She would never let you go, however, and you would just sigh and walk around with her hanging onto you like a belt." Kisai blinked and watched the woman with curiosity as she recited her little memory. The image of looking down and seeing a young wide-eyed child grinning gap-toothed up at her suddenly flashed before her mind's eye.

"Mistress Kimasae? Is that you? When did you get old?!" Kisai cried, walking over and picking up her old mentor like a child and hugging her warmly. Kimasae laughed then smacked Kisai upside the head smartly.

"Have a little respect for your elders, child! I know I may look old, but I am only a year older than you! Respect. Your. Elders!" Each of her last words were punctuated with strong smacks to Kisai's head. The Dog Demon growled and let the woman loose from her grasp.

"Ayaa, Kimasae, you haven't changed at all, either. Though, Mistress, what happened here? This place was incredibly lively and full of scurrying little humans only a few years ago. Was there a plague or something? Demons should have known I was here and stayed clear." Kisai said, rubbing her throbbing head. The wide smile that had brought a look of youth to the woman's face faded, and her winkles took a look of melancholy. She sighed deeply and sat down, and crossed both her arms and legs. Kisai sat in front of her, pressing her hands on her ankles after crossing them.

"Kimasae…" Kisai murmured, now slightly worried. The old woman, especially when she was young, was always lively and active, never really showing sadness or depression unless something truly terrible had happened. The woman, however, waved a hand to quiet the young demon, and then brushed a glimmering tear from her eye.

"Apparently the demons also heard of you're leaving. So did bandits, sadly, for 4 years after you left, they came and tried to rob your family while they were travelling home one night. Your parents fought hard, they truly did, but they died in the end and their daughter was scared mute. I would have taken care of the child myself, but I had to go to another village on an emergency medical run. They needed the herbs I had desperately and I needed the money they offered. The child refused to come with me, however…and when I came back….oohh poor little Rin…" Kimasae finally broke down and covered her face with her hands, sobbing. Kisai, unaccustomed to dealing with human emotions after her long stay with demons, simply stared uncomfortably away from the weeping woman, unsure what to do. Finally after a while she calmed down and wiped her face on her kimono sleeves.

"Kimasae….what happened to the girl…uhm, Rin? I came back to look for her-" Kisai was cut off by a violent sob from the wrinkled woman before her.

"Sh-she…..she was killed….no murdered….by the wolf demons that came and destroyed our village…" Kimasae cried between choking sobs. Kisai gaped, stunned to silence. She looked around again, a new understanding tainting what she saw with a morbid film. Fiery anger rose up in her belly and she felt her hair rising like hackles.

"Who was this demon? The demon that dare risk my wrath to kill those I was sworn to protect!" Kisai snarled, leaping to her feet, her knuckles cracking as they flexed.

"I do believe it was a demon by the name of Koga. He is elsewhere on the island, so there is no longer any need for you to be in my territory." A deep, monotone voice spoke from behind Kisai, at the edge of the forest. The female dog demon snarled and whirled to face the new intruder, her fangs bared and her claws raised and ready.

Sesshomaru stared at her with bland interest with his Tokijin already drawn, but with its point resting non-threateningly in the grass.

"Who are you, and how dare you sneak up on a great Dog Demon like me, you worthless little Oni!" She snarled, her crimson eyes flashing dangerously.

"I am certainly no oni, you mindless piece of flesh." Sesshomaru growled, raising his sword and pointing it at Kisai's chest. "I am Lord Sesshomaru, Son of the Great Dog Demon, Inu No Taisho. Respect is to be shown from someone of your limited powers."

Kisai paled, then her hands fell to her side.

"You're The Honorable Ruler's son?"


	4. Revelation

_Alright, I know I cut off the last chapter at kind of an awkward moment, but it took forever to type and I thought it was longer than it was. I__'__ll fix it all in this chapter so enjoy! _

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything having to do with Inuyasha specifically or generally. _

As Sesshomaru stared at the thin girl before him, he was struck by the oddities of the situation. He had come expecting a vicious demon with a black aura and had instead found a fellow Dog Demon. This girl, who's Crescent was a light purple, while his was cerulean, seemed to know about his father.

"I would have you tell me how you know of my late father. You smell of the sea and half-breed blood, an odd combination if you ask me. How is it that you came into my territory?" He inquired; lowering his blade again to the grass as Kisai practically gaped at him. The old woman Kimasae had hidden behind the silver haired girl when she had snarled, and now she peeked around her thick skirt.

"I know of Inu No Taisho from the legends my parents told me on our home continent. I never got to meet him, however, because we only left the East after he had passed. I had heard he had two sons, one a half-hanyou and the other a Daiyokai like me." Kisai said, regaining her composure. She lowered her hands and rested them on her hips, looking cockily at the taller demon. The thought of meeting her family hero's son was too incredible to believe and she blew this man off as an imposter.

"What family is that? We are the only Dog Demons in this area, and even on the Continent there are only wolf demons and other inbreeds of that type. I know of no continent in the East." Sesshomaru stated, matching her crimson eyes with his own golden ones. Kisai sniffed in agitation.

"Why should I explain myself to you? I have no need for you so leave before I feel the need to end your miserable life." She said, practically purring. She turned on her heel and faced Kimasae, looking down at the little woman.

"Now, where is-" Kisai was cut off by a flash of light that came hissing towards her head. She grabbed Kimasae and leapt up, slashing her own attack down at her attacker. Sesshomaru glared up at her, pissed that she had dared blow him off like that. He easily dodged her downward dark strike, retracting his Whips of Light.

"How DARE you attack me when I am not looking! You little islanders have no manners whatsoever!" Kisai cried, enraged at the sucker-punch like attack. She floated back down to the ground and set Kimasae down, allowing her to scurry for the safety of the woods. Sesshomaru glanced at the fleeing old woman and scowled.

"Poison Claw." He muttered and sprinted foreword after the elderly woman. Kisai cried a warning and tried to intercept the attack, but was too slow and watched as Sesshomaru slashed her friend viciously across the back.

"You bastard!" She screamed, going down on all fours and vaulting herself through the air towards her fuzzily clad enemy.

"Dark Bite!" She howled and sank her fangs into Sesshomaru's leg, sending black tendrils writhing up his leg and wrapping about his body. He made a downward swipe with his glowing green claws but Kisai leapt backwards, his blood dripping from the corners of her mouth. The tendrils made their way up to his neck as he pulled in vain at their onyx coils, tearing through them as if they were mere shadows. They tightened around his pale flesh until she heard a soft crunching noise as his throat was crushed.

Kisai howled in triumph before rushing over to her fallen comrade, touching her shoulder lightly. The old woman was laying face down in a wide pool of her own blood and was not breathing. Kisai's howl turned to one of sadness and anguish as she realized that the old woman had passed on. Then she reached down and brushed closed her eyes that were widened in surprise, and bowed her head, her enemy taken for dead.

"You are a fool to ignore me, child." The deep monotone voice of Lord Sesshomaru was raspy from his esophagus being constricted by the attack, but he was still standing strong, his fangs bared in a dark smirk. He slashed down once across Kisai's back, taken aback at how easily one of his own kind was hurt. He watched as the female dog demon before him cried out and fell forewords, lying across her human friend. Her own dark blood mixed with the vibrant crimson of the human's and made swirls as it poured down her sides.

"Pitiful. How is it that one of my own kind, especially a daiyokai, can fall so easily? Are you sure that you are one of us?" He said, more to himself than to the still body before him. He looked at his bloodied hand and trailed a tongue over his claws, tasting the blood and identifying the breed of demon she was. He frowned, confirming that she was indeed one of his own kind. Never before had he considered the fact that he would need a mate to continue the blood line, but the appearance of a female of no relation and of the same breed, brought the issue to light. He looked down at Kisai and noticed that she was struggling to sit up, and he forced those thoughts to the back of his mind.

"I'm not dead yet, you. Don't underestimate me so,….it's almost….agh…an insult…to your own kind…" She grunted between pained gasps, and managed to stumble upright, determined not to allow herself defeated. She turned and glared at Sesshomaru, who looked at her with a mild interest that was not there before. It made her curious as to what was going through his mind, but at this point, she didn't care what he thought, it was his actions that would determine her own. He let his hand return to its normal color and it fell to his side.

"Child, why is it that you have come to my territory? There have been no other dog demons here since my father was a pup himself. Why come back now? What is your purpose? Surely you cannot be here merely for the revenge for a few pitiful mortals." He repeated quietly, his gaze sliding over the bristling Kisai, then over the dead woman, to the village, and back within a few fractions of a second. Kisai straightened, her back already beginning to heal. She stared down Sesshomaru with all the confidence that he held in cold unresponsiveness.

"I have no need to explain myself to you. I am in no one's territory other than my own pack's. It was said that my ancestors and your own hunted together many, many generations ago, so we share the same land, Sesshomaru." She said evenly, no trace of pain seeping into her voice, and she was rather proud of that. Sesshomaru, however, could read her openly through her eyes that she so confidently would not divert from his own. His golden orbs peered into her crimson ones and saw the pain and conflicted emotions that ran throughout her mind.

The emotions he saw, however, confused him more than anything. As a daiyokai, he was expected to not have emotions and to not feel pain. Kisai said she was a daiyokai as well, and her blood confirmed that…but then why would she feel emotions, things that are tied to half-breeds and mortals? These thoughts ran through his mind as he watched Kisai apparently regain her strength and stop bleeding.

"You cannot possibly be what you say." He said, suddenly decisive, drawing his Tokijin and slicing viciously down upon the shoulder of Kisai. She howled in pain as her arm was severed off, "No full-fledged demon can be plagued with human emotions. You must pay for your lies and injury to me. Now perish!" Sesshomaru growled and was about to draw back for another strike with his blade when a bolt of lightning forced him to retreat a few paces.

"Now, now, Sesshomaru. You can't go killing my clients again, just because I wouldn't make you a sword. You received Tokijin after all." A wheezy, soft voice said as a three eyed bull appeared in the smoke of the lightning. The bug-eyed old man, Totosai, sat atop his bull and looked down at the crumpled Kisai. He used the end of his hammer to lift up her limp body and set it on the back of his strange steed. The thing moo'ed before leaping out of the way of another slash from the rather pissed Sesshomaru.

"Stay out of this old man, it is a miracle that you are yet still alive. Now, hand over the girl, she breaths still." He growled, pointing the tip of his blade squarely at Totosai's chest. Totosai shook his head and raised his hammer.

"I can't this time, Sesshomaru." He said before swinging his hammer down with such force that it cracked the earth and molten magma flowed upwards, turning the area into a boiling wasteland.

Totosai's cattle floated off with clouds encasing its ankles, mooing as the flea Myoga drew blood from the creature's hide.

"Master Totosai, that was very reckless. You are becoming like Master Inuyasha, you know." He said, rolling down the cattle's flank like an overblown balloon.

"Eh? Don't even say that Myoga! That's not even remotely funny!" The old, bug-eyed man yelped, sweat still running down the side of his face in panic from the faceoff. Then he calmed and took a deep breath, swinging his crossed legs around so he could look at the bleeding girl draped across the back of his bull.

"I simply have a long-standing order with this girl's family and I have been pre-paid. Any good swords smith knows that once paid, you must complete the job, no matter what! It's either complete it or become considered an untrustworthy smith!" He said, scratching his chin and contemplating on if she was going to die before he got to his shop.

As Myoga and Totosai talked as they flew, Sesshomaru glared after them, cursing under his breath.

"This isn't over, child." He snarled, then turned and sprinted back to where Rin and Jakken waited on the trail. Rin was still singing her little song when Sesshomaru appeared before her.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Your back!" She cried, smiling widely, and Sesshomaru had to fight to keep back a small smile of his own.


	5. Nightmares

_I know its taken forever for me to type up this ne chapter but its because my microsoft word has decided to lock up on me and its taking forever for me to re-type it. So, my bad._

_Disclamer: I do not own Inuyasha or any trademarks having to do with it. The only things that are original to me are the little plot for this fanfction and the characters Kisai and Kimasae._

_------------------------ _

The airborne trio made its way towards Totosai's new forgery and landed at the entrance to the cave. Myoga leapt off the cattle's back as it turned to a cloud of smoke once again and dissapated into the air. Totosai looked down at the still form of Kisai and yelled in suprise.

"Her arm has grown back!"

Myoga came back out of the cave and bounced onto the girl's previously bloody shoulder. Instead of there being a gaping and bloody wound there was a pale but perfectly healthy arm.

"Interesting. It seems that she can regenerate lost body parts. Though, it looks like it took a lot out of her. You had better tend to her health Totsai, or she might well die before you can forge her sword." He said, bouncing off as Kisai muttered something and shifted, her face contorted in pain and it took on a feverish hue.

"You're right Myoga, stay here and keep an eye on her while I go an find some medicinal herbs. Make ssure she doesnt go and take off, alright?" Totosai said, grabbing his staff and running off on his thin little old man legs. Myoga huffed and whined about his size and how he would be no match for a full sized dog demon. Kisai, however, was in no shape to be running anywhere, and was curled into a little ball, shivering as her body was desperately trying to replacec the lost blood.

Back with Sesshomaru's party, Rin was singing a new little tune and Jakken was sitting on Ah-Un's back, facing away from the girl, and swaying slightly to the song. Sesshomaru was once again in the lead, his hand resting lightly on his throat where black welts had rised, feeling cold to the touch. His feet found the trail on their own as he passed under the trees, the sun filtering softly through the greenery. His mind was off on a different trail, seeking a lost treasure trove of tales and memories. He hoped that they would lead him to the information that he needed. His mind's eye searched for the stories that his father might have told him about the different branches and packs of Dog Demons. He knew his father was the leader of Japan's pack, along whit his mother. His mother, however, resided in another dimension and did not take part in the pack's hierarchy.

Sesshomaru's hand fell from his neck to rest on his sword's hilt. He remembered his father telling him a story about a pack that resided on the continent and a certain pack that had broken off a long time ago, a really long time ago when you considered how long dog demons lived normally and how they looked at time. It was said that they moved to an unknown land that was almost impossible unless you knew how to fly or were a remarkable sailor. However, this family seemed to have a certain power or skill that allowed them to traverse great expanses of land with no trouble. No one seemed to know what trait was, but no one knew how to ask, because none of the family had apparently returned to Japan.

Whether that meant that they had found their new land to be more pleasant than their earlier home, or if they had simply perished, Sesshomaru did not know. His golden orbs focused in on the surroundings and became alert and bright as he realized where he had unconciously walked. He had arrived at Ryukotsuei's Valley, well thats what he had nicknamed the rift where the giant dragon demon slept in a coma induced by his father. The fur that rested on his shoulder ruffled in the wind that blew forever in this lonely place, howling as it wormed its way through the craggy rocks.

He hadnt noticed that Rin had stopped singing and he blinked violently when he saw her dance around in front of him, getting precariously close to the edge to stare in awe at the sleeping beast below.

"Rin, get back from there." Sesshomaru ordered gruffly, reaching foreward with his one hand, ready to pick her up by the scruff of her neck if need be. She danced backwards, however, with her light little steps and beamed up at her Lord.

"Yes sir." She chirped, and Sesshomaru had to swallow an affectionate smile as he watched his little human ward skip back to her two-headed guard dog. Jakken, however, was not so cheery and shuffled slowly to a safe distance from the edge, staring intently down at the ridge.

"Why are we here, my lord?" He said quietly, nooking up at Sesshomaru with a half-terrified face. Sesshomaru simply glanced at him after following Rin back to Ah-Un, then let his gaze graze over the dragon before beginning to track back towards the ocean.

"I do not know." Was all he said before drifting back off into his thoughts.

----------------------------------

_"Kiiiissaaaaiiiii...ooohhhhh Kiiiissaaaaiiiii...wake up my little Kisai..." _

Kisai's eys snapped open as an eeire voice echoed through the forest she was napping in. She sat up and looked around, her crimson eyes raking the surrounding foliage for the owner of the obtrusive voice. She sat there, stock still, for a few moments before twtiching and thumping behind her ear with her foot. She yawned widely and stood up, shaking the leaves out of her fur as she rose a good ten feet above the trees around her. She had dozed off in a fairly new forest and the trees were not the ancient ones she had grown up with, the ones that made her feel like a pup even when she was in her natural dog-demon form. She was not a small demon either, simply young for her age, but impressive none-the-least.

She looked around, her massive head making the tops of the trees sway as it swept over the greenery, making near gale-force winds as it went. Kisai sniffed the air experimentally and found that something odd tainted it. She couldnt quite figure out what it was that made her nose tingle, but it definately caught her interest.

Leaping grandly into the air, she moved along like she was on solid ground, the smokey fur at her heels allowing her to run on thin air. Kisai felt that she had been running forever, tracking the elusive, but enticing scent that seemed to get no more powerful, but neither did it fade. The voice that woke her had not spoken to her since, but Kisai had a feeling that if she found the source of the smell, then she would find that deep voice as well.

Kisai ran and ran, the forests never changing, never ending. The wind with the taunting scent howled past her long floppy ears, telling that she was indeed moving, but the lack of movement beneath her feet revealing otherwise. The sun, indestinguishable behind the thin film of clouds, never moved in its heavenly orbit, and yet stained the clouds differing shades of orange and red.

_'Soon...'_ She thought, _'soon I shall go mad. But I cannot. I still have much to do, too many things that need my attention...I must escape this place...I must survive.' _

_'Kiiiisssaaaaiiiii...ooohhhh Kisaiiii...' _

The strangely familiar voice brought the exhasted and frustrated Kisai to a halt as she collapsed into her humanoid form and hid amongst the tall grasses of her napping clearing.

"What do you want from me?" She murmured, fighting to stay concious as her body slowly shut down.

_"Oh, my little Kisai...I want nothing more than for you to live..."_

"Bull spit." She snapped angrly. "You brought me here didnt you. You want to watch me slip away into madness. Why? Whats in it for you? You cant have the secret, its a trait, you cant have it if Im DEAD!"

_"Ohhh...no no no no noooo...my little Kisai...the little fire pup of the east, I dont want that...I want...Inuyasha..." _The voice purred, and it echoed slightly as Kisai slowly closed her eyes.

"Why...should I...whats in it for me..." She whispered, her strength failing her as she felt her lips turn to cement.

_"You get to wake up...and Ill show you your precious Rin..." _

"..."

_"Kiiiissaaaiiii...stay awake or youll never be able to fulfill your family purpose..."_

"Mhmgrm...go away...Im so sleepy..." Kisai said, barely audible even to her own ears.

_"Will you do as I say...if I let you sleep, yet wake again?"_ The voice purred, his words followed by the sensation of arms being wrapped around her, sitting her up.

"...Rin..." The voice chuckled darkly as Kisai breathed the name of that child, her ward, her mission, her tie to life.

_"Yes...Ill show you Rin...but then you are mine..." _There was silence for what seemed an eternity in that dream, but then with her last breath, Kisai signed her soul away to that voice.

"Ohkay."

-------------------------------------

"Ah! She's waking up! See, Myoga, I told you my rememdies always work. Now hop back before she crushes you."

There was a terrible hacking coughing for a few minutes then gasping and panting.

"Good lord, man, what did you give her?! She sounds like a drowning victem, not a stabbing one." Myoga yelped as he bounced around Kisai as she stared blankly straight ahead, propped up against a rock by Totosai. Green fluid dripped down the side of her mouth and dribbled down her chin as light slowly came back to ger crimson eyes. Siddenly she blinked and twitched violently, doubling over and retching.

"Huh...maybe it wasnt my remedy..." Totosa said, suddenly looking down at the pale girl from the top of the cave, having abandoned his position by Kisai's side at the first sign of possible up-chuck.

"You think." Myoga replied wryly, bouncing on the old man's shoulder. Kisai's stomach finally seemed to calm and she pushed herself upright with wobbly arms.

"Damn it...what did you do to me, old man?" She said raspily, her throat torn from the strange concoction that had been poured down her throat. She shook her head, still groggy but fragments of the dream tugging at her mind as if it was something that desperately needed attention but couldnt remember what it was.

"You had a fever from loosing so much blood then using your aura to replace your arm. You were on the verge of death when I gave you one of my herbal rememdies. I figured it was a sucess since you stopped muttering to yourself and woke up." Totosai reported as he jumped back down to ground level.

"Yes, but then you went and threw it all up, so apparently it wasnt the herbs that brought you back. What happened, miss?" Myoga asked in his flea voice. Kisai stared at the strange duo for a moment, trying to order her thoughts.

"Uhm...who are you and where am I?" She said, rubbing the drool off of her chin and attmepted to stand up to face the strangers.

"Well I am of course Totosai the famous blacksmith, the forger of many great demonic swords. This here on my shoulder is the Flea Demon Myoga. You are at my forgery." Totosa said, guesturing to himself, then Myoga, then to his cave in a dismissive manner. Kisai followed his hand and looked around curiously, wobbling slighty as she tried to walk towards the cave, her good hand resting protectively on her new arm.

"Ah." Was all she said as she reached the edge of the cave. Suddenly she turned and opened her mouth, pointing to 4 miss-matched fangs that grew there. Totosai leapt back, thinking she was bearing her fangs at him. Kisai only laughed however and grinned.

"Relax old man. I was merely pointing out the fangs that you would need to make my sword. Ive kept the fangs alive by placing them in place of my own fangs and allowing them to grow there." She said, closing her mouth again, running her toung over her mother's, grandomther's, and great-grandomther's fangs. Totosai calmed down and nodded, walking into the cave.

"So, you are Kisai, eh?" Myoga piped from her shoulder. Kisai looked down at him in suprise, thinking that he had left with the old man. She nodded then her eyes became angrily half lidded as she felt a small bite of pain. She brought her good arm up swiftly and smacked her neck. She brought her hand down and looked at the little demon that was flattened against her palm.

"Dont do that."

"Oh...kay..."

"ah-hah! Here we are." Both Kisai and Myoga looked up as Totosai emerged from the darkness of the cave with a rust pair of clamps. Kisai's eyes widened and she closed her mouth tightly, her lips becoming a thin white line. Totosai shook his head and approached the pale Kisai, clicking the clamps together ominously.

"Open up girly. I need those to make your sword. With my skill it will only take me 3 days, so the sooner i get the teeth the sooner you can go find your little ward." Kisai blinked at that, the deep voice from her dream echoing n her mind. She releaxed for a moment, lost in her thoughts and Totosai used that opportunity to pull her mouth open and yank a tooth out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHGGGGGGGGG!!!!!"

The pained howl echoed over the valley that fell away from the side of the mountain where the cave was perched. The howl was followed by a few more yelps and then whimpering as the rest of the fangs were swiftly pulled.

"Stop your sniffling, girl! They will grow back within a day anyway." Totosai said, walking into the cave, leaving a snffling Kisai sit out in the sun with tears shinin in the corners of her eyes. She opened her mouth and touched the four gaps tenderly then sighed and stood up, looking around.

"Im going for a walk!" She shouted into the cave, getting only a wheezing grunt in response before an orange-red glow flared in the blackness as the furnace was lit. Kisai shook her head and leapt off the ledge and fell the good 200 feet to the edge of the valley, springing along the good mile to the bottom.

"Woah, slow down girl! You'll kill us both!" A squeaky voice shouted from Kisai's bangs. She lowed down as she reached a thicker band of greenery that surrounded a gurgling creek.

"What are you doing here Flea man?" Kisai said, her voice light and teasing as she walked towards the creek that twisted through the valley like a clear blue vein. Myoga huffed, insulted and hopped from her hair to her shoulder.

"My name is Myoga, and you would do well to remember that. I was once close with the great Inu No Taisho, and now with his youngest son, Inuyasha." He bragged as Kisai slipped off her boots to wade into the freezing waters. She stopped, however, when she heard Inuyasha's name, the gurgling water rippling up over the tops of her feet and splashing against her ancles.

"Inuyasha huh? Tell me about him..." She said quietly, forcing her feet to keep moving so she could hide her eagerness. Myoga didnt seem to find anything suspicious in her interest so he began telling an intricate tale about Inuyasha and his origins.

Soon Kisai's head was spinning with the information that it was trying to digest.

_'The great Leader, seduced by a human...he had a half-breed child...a half-hanyou...how? How could he allow that to happen?!" _She thought, her feet moving along by themselves, and soon she returned to the world to realize that Myoga had stopped talking. She looked down at her shoulder then patted her head gingerly.

"Myoga?" She said, then looked around her surroundings and realized that she had movd out of the valley and was next to a misty lake.

"Where am I..."

"You have come to me. You owe me, remember..." The deep voice from her fever dream made Kisai's head snap up from where she was looking at a moss covered plant. Her crimson eyes searched the area around her closely, but the fog obscured her long-range vision. She didnt have to search for long because a man wearing a baboon pelt that concealed his whole body but for his chin. Kisai growled deep in her throat and held her hands up, her claws extending threateningly.

"Hahahahaaa...little Kisai, no need for such shows. Besides, I saved your life. You would have died from blood loss and that fever had not sent some of my strength to you." The deep voice floated out from under the pelt and she sensed that the owner of that voice was smirking at her. She snarled again but did not retract her fangs or her claws.

_"Damn it, I knew I shoudnt have left the cave without my sword."_ Kisai silently berated herself as she felt the immense waves of power rolling off the crouched man before her.

"Maybe, but then again, how can we be sure? I am a powerful demon and you smell nothing of the sort. You smell like old corpses and dirt." She spat, hoping to spurr him into the first strike so she could retaliate with her quick darting strikes. The baboon pelt merely shook slightly with laughter as a pale, cadaverous hand snaked its way out from the shadows of the fur. In the hand there was held a small pendand. Kisai gasped as her hand flew to her neck

"N-no! How...how did you get that?!" Kisai cried, her voice suddenly weak from shock and the sudden terror that seized her. There was a thin line of scar tissue between her collar bones where the pendant had once rested inside her body.

"Heh, you lost more than blood when Sesshomaru attacked you. I merely collected the lost peices. Now, you owe me and this is how I shall extract your payment from you." The shadow said as he stood. The other pale hand reached out and slipped a finger into the eye hole of the babbon's mask to pull it off, reavealing a pale face, crimson eyes shadowed by what seemed like purple eyeshadow, and onyx waves of hair framing a smirk of pure gleeful evil.

"Fine...if I do what you say...you must give me my pendant back, agreed?" I snarled so viciously that even this demon's smirk faded slightly.

"Very well. You are mine, however, until you bring me the head of Inuyasha tha half-breed son of Inu no Taisho." He said, all traces of his amusement gone and a dead seriousness dominating his features. His fingers tightened dangerously around the pendant in his palm and Kisai let out a pained cry, falling to her knees and digging her fingers into her chest above where a human would hold their heart.

"Ah...all...alright..." She managed to whimper, and the pain subsided and the demon stalked over to her trembling side.

"That...and you will call me Master...Master Naraku..."


	6. Reunion

_Yeah yeah yeah, I know, its been like a year since ive added a chapter on here, and im going to admit that this chapter is probably going to suck._

_But i tried lol. I really did. No flamers though okay? _

_I dont own Inuyasha or the other characters, however I own Kisai and the changed plot. _

"Lying is a disreputable sort of thing, but sadly all too necessary to function in this world of ours."

"So started the final speech of Miroku the perverted monk." Sango's voice floated ominously over the flames of the crackling bonfire that separated the huntress from the infamous deviant. A terrified expression flitted across his face before he masked it with a look of wide-eyed innocence. He bent and scooped up the little childlike fox demon that was poking absently at the fire with a smoking twig.

"I am merely trying to teach poor Shippo here about the more uncouth ways of the world. The boy should be prepared should he not?" Squirming and thrashing to try and free himself from the tutelage that would surely pose a threat to his tiny life should Sango grow too irritated, the young demon squeaked out a reply.

"I can learn just fine on my own Miroku! Besides, I don't want to know all your dirty little secrets about what you do with women!" The ploy was devious, and revealed that the tiny fox was more intelligent than the confused monk had anticipated. He looked down at the struggling child in his arms before a rather large chunk of spit firewood struck him full force in the head. Reeling back from the crushing blow, Miroku let the struggling boy from his grasp.

Inuyasha howled with laughter and slapped his knee, while Kagome merely sighed softly and shook her head in pity. "See, now that's why I don't mess with human women! They're nothin' but trouble!" His cackling bout of laughter was cut off as a single ringing word shot into the night air.

"Sit!" Howling now in alarmed pain, Inuyasha was slammed face-first into the earth by the enchanted beads bound forever around his neck. Tilting her nose towards the night sky, the reincarnated priestess gave a disdainful sniff and looked away from her struggling protector.

"Oh come on Kagome, I didn't mean you! I don't even consider you human!"

"Sit boy!" Letting out a strangled yell of pain, the befuddled half breed looked up at the raven haired female out of the deepening imprint that his body was making into the dry soil.

"What was that for?! I was just sayin' that your weirder than regular hu-"

"SIT BOY!" Screeching a few octaves higher than the comfortable listening range allowed, Kagome sentenced the white haired male to digging out the hole….with his face.

"I would just give up Inuyasha, you're not making much headway there." Miroku advised from his prostate position on his back. Sango looked over at him with an ugly expression warping her typically lovely features.

"Oh? I wasn't aware you had even regained consciousness monk." The foreboding sound of her hand slapping against another chunk of firewood made his figure flinch slightly. This time it was Chippo's turn to laugh, thought his bubbling giggles degraded into yelps of pain as Inuyasha pinched his cheeks and pulled them to the sides. Having regained his composure, the half breed glared at the boy with irritation as he continued the torture.

"Owch, Inuyasha, stop it, that hurts!" Crying out in pain with large beads of tears forming in the corners of his eyes, Chippo dug at the clawed hands that held his face in a vice-like grip. Kagome, finally growing tired of all the late-night commotion, pinched Inuyasha's fluffy and extremely sensitive ear between her pointer finger and her thumb and stood, effectively dragging the yowling dog demon to where they had laid out blankets and sleeping bags for the night.

Sighing and rubbing his burning face, Chippo looked with mild loathing after the whimpering male before his expression became curious. "Sango…"

His voice was quiet and thoughtful, odd for the piping and energetic little furball. His tone froze Sango in her death stalk towards the still prone form of her adversary and occasional love interest. It even piqued Kirara's interest as she lifted her head from where she had napped through the earlier rough housing.

"What is it Chippo?" Voice gentle and calm, the huntress finished circling the fire to place herself between Miroku and Chippo, her attention momentarily diverted. Miroku, sensing her warmth, sat up slowly and looked into the fire, his hands placed safely on his crossed ankles.

"Have you noticed how Inuyasha and Kagome…" Trailing off shyly, he sighed, apparently trying to find a way to phrase his question right. Sango's expression softened and she took a breath to prompt him to finish when he blurted out the rest of his question. "…have been sleeping under the same blanket lately?"

"GAH!" Two loud thuds shook the ground as both Sango and Miroku slammed into the ground with comical force, stunned and flustered expressions painted over their faces.

The sound of Chippo's insistent questioning floated a goodly ways off, reaching the hiding place of two glowing pairs of eyes, narrowed in anticipatory excitement. Naraku clenched his fist tightly around a thick leash, the leather creaking angrily under the strain. Thrashing and tugging on the end was a salivating and wild looking canine with wide red eyes and a jagged crescent moon just above its brow line. The beast was larger than any dog, standing almost as tall as a horse. The lines of its body seemed to crawl and writhe in the shaded moonlight, as if another creature were trapped beneath the skin, struggling to break free.

Jerking back on the leash sharply, Naraku caused the hound to yelp in pain, the muzzle ensnaring its snout constricting agonizingly tight, painting the frothy foam oozing from its jaws with dark blood. Panting heavily, the dog turned and paced back to its master's side, the speckled moonlight revealing an emaciated body bound in long, wiry muscles that flexed and relaxed below thin, dirty white fur that was missing in patches. Hip bones jutted out into the air below starkly showing rib bones and mountainous shoulder blades. The left front leg of the hound was the only pure white patch of fur, almost glowing in the soft celestial light.

Scowling at the health of his newfound pet, Naraku kicked in disgust at the creature he had bound into submission. Snarling savagely, the thing took a swipe at the baboon clad leg, faint shadows trailing after its dulled claws. In retribution to the weak attack, his fist tightened around the leash and a purple aura consumed the muzzle that chained the slavering jowls closed and prevented the beast from taking a chunk out of his flesh.

"If you had not resisted my rule so much and merely succumbed to the control of the shard, your health would not be in such a dire state. I had not thought that you would be so foolish as to risk death even when I promised you a reunion with your beloved Rin, Kisai." Nearly spitting the words at the trembling beast pacing at his side, he watched from behind the baboon skull as his secret weapon gushed blood from the gaps in her impressive line of fangs. Looking up as she regained her composure, the proud dog demon gave a snort and faced the hole she had literally chewed into the bushes to spy on her prey. Her crimson eyes glowed in gluttonous lust to dine on the flesh of simple humans.

"_Release me fool creature. The male you seek is occupied, and I shall strike whilst they are distracted." _Seeming to nearly chew on the words, the grating and vaguely feminine voice that emanated from Kisai''s restricted jaws was impatient and haughty. Resisting the urge to rip the last bit of life from her body, Naraku reached out and unclipped the latch that held the cursed muzzle to her head. Shaking her entire body as if trying to release moisture from the patchy coat, the female daiyokai licked at her bloody nose and turned to face her captor with a look of absolute loathing and contempt. Drawing her lips back over her dully gleaming fangs, she licked at them threateningly, and crouched low, hackles rising as her muscles bunched in preparation to shred the man standing before her. Naraku remained utterly emotionless as he simply raised his hand and clenched his fist tightly, a bright light shining between his fingers. Collapsing into agonized convulsions, bloody foam bubbled into the corners of her mouth as she lay twitching on her side.

"You are truly an idiotic little animal." Sighing this time, Naraku released his grip on the item that so controlled the woman's heart. Struggling to her feet, the female's chest heaved in an erratic pace as she staggered slightly trying to find her footing. Shaking her head slowly, she blinked blearily as she fought to return from the brink of death. "One truly can die from exposure to extreme pain. The heart cannot take it and will simply stop beating. You do as I say or I will kill you slowly, putting you through hell before I crush your soul with unbearable torture that you cannot even imagine."

The threat struck home as Kisai let her tail droop in submission, letting out a slight whimper. Nodding in gruff acknowledgement, his aura became almost smug as he gave a negligent wave of his hand, sending his attack hound out to ravage the unprepared group. Turning and pacing silently through the bushes, Kisia lowered her belly almost to the ground as she crept along, trying to keep her aura held tight against her body to avoid detection.

Whether it was the fact that she was terribly weak and ill, or the adrenaline from Kagome and Inuyasha's…activities had spiked her senses, as soon as Kisai got within twenty feet of the group's little campsite Kagome sat up with a piercing scream and pointed to where the transformed figure of the dog demon was camouflaged into the tall grass. Cursing fluently under her breath, Kisai abandoned stealth as her advantage of surprise was destroyed and charged directly at the couple beneath the sleeping bags. Her contract was for Inuyasha alone, and if she could get away with his death without wasting energy on others, than she would eagerly takes that chance, despite the blow to her ego.

As she leapt over the flames and the scrambling bodies of a raven haired female and a male smelling of an overdose of testosterone, she felt rather than heard the snarling roar of a large feline demon. Clenching her jaw tight closed to keep an agonized scream from escaping her already ravaged lungs, Kirara's fangs carved into her flank. The impact of the flame heeled cat demon threw her skidding to the side, just a few feet short of her target.

Swearing fluently in the guttural language of the mainland demons, Kisai clawed her way to her feet, already feeling her energy burst of adrenaline fading, and the pain and weakness of her condition setting in like weights slowly settling on her limbs. Panting heavily and now facing off against the entire roused group, weapons drawn and powers building in defensive stances. Staring down the guarded forces, the weakened demoness took a terrified step back as the cold clamps of fear settled in around her heart, freezing her joints and shortening her already wheezing breath.

"Attack! Do not back down or there will be no doubt that you will die!" Howling in rage at the faltering steps of his enslaved assassin, Naraku materialized out of the shadows of the fire to throw his purple clad fist at the trembling Kisai. A glowing indigo collar whipped around the pale and diseased looking throat of the hound, causing her to rear back on her hind legs, clawed front paws thrashing in the air as she howled in sheer agony and soul tearing anguish. The depth of that pain fueled the dark slivers that sped through the air towards the huddled group who stood stunned, looking between the master and hound that had attacked them out of the blue.

"Wind tunnel!" Ripping the protective beads and cloth from the palm of his hand, Miroku was the first to pull himself out of the stunned paralysis that had seemed to grip them all. The shards of darkness incarnate faded and warped as they were sucked into the black hole that was the monk's curse and favorite weapon. His savior reaction snapped the others from their gawking poses and threw them into action.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango shouted and hefted the enormous boomerang at the dirty white trembling lupine demon. Kisia was digging desperately at her neck with her rear leg, trying in the ultimate futile gesture to tug the searing collar off over her head. Sunk into a world where here was only a never ending pain where even deaths cold embrace could not reach, the echoing snap of her breaking ribs barely registered in her inflamed brain.

Inuyasha, of course, had drawn his Tetsusaiga and charged directly for the ranting and raving Naraku. His attention diverted to saving his own skin from the roaring half-breed, the false demon released his hold on the collar that was strangling Kisai, allowing her a short breath and a brief moment of clarity. She straightened on all fours and looked with calm benevolence at the humans chattering in alarm and scrambling around, their shadows lengthening as they dashed before the dying fire.

In that one moment of pain free thought she realized the peril that she was in. Her body was close to shutting down entirely, her ribs were shattered from the unprotected strike of the enormous boomerang, and the oversized cat was carrying the monk with holy papers clasped in his fist. Her crimson eyes widened as the papers flew at her like heat seeking projectiles. She had only enough time to bow her head and brace for impact as the papers struck her fragile body like blessed nukes.

The written incantations burst into green flames as soon as they touched her flinching and shuddering skin, causing a screeching cry of torment and torture to tear its way through the other cries and shouts of battle. Everyone seemed to freeze in mid-movement and turn towards the sound of a dying animal. Miroku even faltered in his merciless attack, but Kirara's instincts told her that the killing blow was near, and such an opportunity would not be passed up by the feral side of the demon. Landing hard on the ground in front of the transformed demoness whose head was thrown towards the sky in supplication, begging the mother moon to finally end her pain.

Legs bunching like iron springs, Kirara launched herself at the exposed throat of the wolf demon so hard that Miroku was thrown off her back. Saber tooth lined maw gaping wide, the bear-trap powered jaw snapped shut around Kisai's vulnerable and soft trachea. The agonizing cry trailed off into a gurgling sigh as a fountain of blood gushed from the parted fangs of the transformed woman. Jerking her furred head away from the punctured throat, Kirara's face was soaked in dark blood as blood burst from the gaping and ragged hole she tore into Kisai's throat. As her fluttering heart raced with pain and the realization that she was bleeding out, her neck fountained the tacky fluid, betrayed by the very body that needed that very life force.

"No!" Naraku screamed in fury, clenching his hands as they clawed towards the crumpled form of his one shot at finally destroying his sworn enemy. As the blood ran like a river from the wide open arteries severed in the Kisai's neck, the corrupted shard had been removed from her failing body. A soft white glow surrounded her twitching form as she was released from the binding that the shard had bolted to her very soul. Within five seconds, she had faded back to her humanoid form, the front of her outlandish outfit soaked through with her own life blood. Naraku turned on his heel and fled, abandoning not only the husk of a body that was the only remains of the once proud dog demon, but the precious shard of the Jewel of Four Souls.

The huddled group stared after the dematerialized shadow of the corrupted half demon, the embers of the dying campfire barely illuminating the darkness around them enough to cast even the faintest of shadows across the body of the deceased. One by one, the group turned away from the bloody and grisly sight, packed their things, and moved on to a different campsite.

* * *

The next morning, flies had found the corpse and gathered on it like a gluttonous buffet of sanguinary glee. The stench struck Sesshomaru's nose from miles away, and he nearly gagged as he walked serenely along the path that he and his followers trailed along. He clapped his hand over his mouth and nose, his eyes watering as bile burned his throat. He managed to choke down his revulsion and regain his composure. By this time Rin had noticed something was wrong, and was staring up at him with her wide dark eyes full of concern.

"Lord Se-?" Sesshomaru cut off her concerned inquiry with a curt wave of his hand before he turned towards where the offensive smell was crawling its way sluggishly through the trees, drug along by a stiff breeze. Without paying any mind to the insistent whining of Jaken, Sesshomaru disappeared into the woods, seemingly lost in the stench that filled his incredibly sharp nose.

"Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you going?" Hopping after his leader until the edge of the trail they were following, Jaken groaned and beat the end of his staff against the hard packed dirt in exasperation. "There he goes again. Leaving us behind without the slightest hint as to where he is going or when he is going to be back!"

Rin merely looked after her beloved fluffy master, eyes distant and her hand resting on her steed's neck lightly. She ran her palm along the scaled neck until it reached one of Ah-Un's three heads. She whispered something into its ear and the demon snorted and began to sniff the ground, apparently picking up some kind of scent. One of the free heads looked back at Rin and nodded. The girl smiled in response, the expression looking like sunlight breaking through the oppressing crowd of a thunderstorm.

"Well then lets go! Its about time that we figure out what he does when he leaves us like this. That and this way, we can help if he gets into a fight or something!" With her childish mind, she never once considered that maybe she would be a hindrance in any kind of altercation, but this day would hold no dangers for the loyal little child.

* * *

Sesshomaru finally reached the source of the stench, his eyes darting from place to place as he read the signs of a fight, the smells lingering in the grass and the air revealing that his least favorite half-breed brother was in the fight, and the one man he swore to destroy for attacking Rin was once there as well. The smoky aftertaste of dead campfire smoke in the air did nothing to mask the rank malodor of death and decay that permeated every breath. His eyes were almost permanently fogged with the tears of half swallowed vomit before he spotted the sunken face of the full blooded female demon that he had met not more than five days ago.

Shock halted the progression of regurgitation up his slender gullet, his eyes widening in surprise. The sunken and shriveled body had not been treated well by the creatures of the night, but the resemblance was still there. Even though her death was hours ago, he could see the death imps still trying to pry her soul away from the anchor of a body that lay before him like a humanoid raisin. He could tell that even in her last moments of life, she had been near death because of emaciation and exhaustion.

He stood over the body for a few moments, watching the imps before they looked up and saw him, screaming in terror, and fled into the mists of the death world. Drawing the Tenseiga, he swept his blade over the limp body. After sheathing his sword, he gave a hearty blink. He stared at his hand, which had given life back to the very annoyance that he had tried to destroy of his own free will, not a week before. He couldn't think of a single reason behind reviving the woman who had pretty much spat into his face with her stubborn ego and insulting condescending attitude.

Yet there he was, standing over the slowly rejuvenating woman. Giving a soft snort of irritation, the highest form of emotion he had shown in ages, he knelt down at her side, rolling the girl onto her side so the clotted blood could slough off onto the ground as her body healed itself.

"Wh-y…" Kisai's voice was raspy and raw as she tried to speak, her voice box not yet completely healed. Sesshomaru grunted in acknowledgement that he was listening, though his expression was one of utter disinterest. The crimson eyed woman blinked rapidly, as if her vision was still dark and spotty, and tried once more to voice her gasping question. "Why…di-id you br…bring me back?"

_"I wish I knew that myself" _Sesshomaru thought to himself before he grunted and rolled her onto her back with an offhand shove of his clawed hand. The woman whimpered and a strange jolt ran through the full blooded Yokai, as if he felt bad for causing her pain. But of course that was impossibility. Sesshomaru felt bad for no demon, and cared only marginally for Rin herself. He sighed silently and looked off towards the woods, delving into his thoughts, trying to pick at the seeming offhand way he had saved her miserable life.

"You-" His snide remark froze in his throat as he looked down at her, only to catch his eye on a sparkling shard buried in blood soaked grass. A smirk spread over his lips and he reached down and plucked the shard from the turf with a deft pinch of his clawed fingers. There was his reason. If he had not saved her and rolled her over, the shard would not have fallen from her body and directly into his possession. "I merely wanted the shard that you possessed. Nothing more. I could not care less should you die here, or a hundred years from now. "

The woman closed her eyes and she seemed to deflate, and for a moment he wondered that if she truly had passed on already. However, her chest rose once more and she half opened her hazy orbs. The pale lips parted to speak when a familiar voice echoed over the expanse between the tree line and the huddled duo.

"Loooord Sesshomaruuuu!" Rin cried, waving her arm high over her head as she and Ah-Un lumbered across the plain with Jaken scrambling along behind them. He cursed silently under his breath as he realized that Rin was the one that the demoness stirring at his feet was seeking, and that Rin would naturally want to take in the injured yokai and nurse her back to health.

At the sound of the child's voice, something snapped within Kisai's mind and her eyes snapped open, but soon closed, trying to contain the bubbling excitement that swelled within her chest. She did not even have to see the child that galloped towards them on something heavy enough to cause the earth to shake with each thundering step. The lusty wail of the baby that echoed across the ocean and resonated in her heart when Rin was first born was matched by this loving cry of innocent greeting. She must find a way to stay close to Rin, for it was apparent now that she was the follower of the man who had somehow brought her back from the edge of the death world.

Standing slowly, Sesshomaru turned a deadly glare onto the smiling and giggling form of his ward, causing even Ah-Un to shudder and slow to a crawling walk. He spoke a few sharp words to the child, and she replied in a wheedling and sweet tone. Neither noticed the transformation that followed suit as Sesshomaru continued to reprimand the little girl for following him unheeded into dangerous territory. By the time that he had reached the point that if there had been an attack, there would have been no way for him to protect her, there was nothing but a shaggy, white, pony sized dog standing behind the demon dog lord.

Rin, of course, following the natural course of all little girls, spotted the dog and immediately went into a fit of ecstasy. "Oh Lord Sesshomaru! You got me a PUPPY!" She squealed and threw herself off her demon steed's back and sprinted full force into the furry shoulder of the now healthy looking dog demon. Her skin no longer seemed to crawl, and instead the dog was healthy, if a bit too plump, and panted in canine laughter. Sesshomaru stared at the gleeful child in utter disbelief for a long moment as the child cooed and petted the long and floppy ears of the female that had just a moment ago been too weak to speak.

He tried multiple times to speak, each time to no avail. He simply could not find the words to express to Rin the level of wrong this entire situation expressed to him. Finally, the look of happiness that she shot towards him every few moments melted the resistance he held and he nodded once. Screaming once more in elation, she crawled onto the back of the dog, seeming to adopt the furrier transportation over the scaly demon. The dog grunted slightly under the weight and looked up at Sesshomaru reproachfully as if it was somehow his fault.

"Don't look at me. This was your doing, and seeing as the child has chosen you, you will stay. But if you hurt her, I'll have it known that you will wish you had been dead long ago." He said it with such lacking emotion that Kisai had no choice but to accept it as truth. A low wag of her tail was her acceptance of the contract they had just struck up.


	7. Flashbacks

_I do not own inuyasha's characters or plots so don't sue me! Not that youll get more than three cents and some pocket lint though. XD_

* * *

Burning ache mixed with sharp stabbing pain as Kisai shuffled along the narrow dirt clearing that her grudging savior had chosen as their current path of exploration. He didn't seem to know where they were going, or to even have a destination in mind, making the weariness in her mind double the exhaustion in her body.

The initial excitement from finding the child she was supposed to protect had worn off over two hours ago, and the fact that she hadn't given her body ample time to heal was starting to really reveal itself, though obvious physical manifestations had yet to appear. She could feel the wheezing rasp of air squeezing its way through small bloodless holes in her trachea, her ribs creaked soundlessly when she took too beep a breath and seared like a brand whenever Rin's thin legs would brush against them, and her lack of energy was causing her to slowly fall behind the meandering group.

She would never admit that she was in pain, or show it openly, however, and have Sesshomaru find an opportunity to send her away. The whole situation was just a bit weird from the start. A few days ago, she had nearly died and had lost an arm because of him. And yet he had saved her life. Maybe he planned to torture and kill her for being such a pain earlier once night fell and Rin was asleep or out of the picture. In her current state Kisai wouldn't be much of a challenge, and she knew that. The cold hand of fear had begun to wrap its icy digits around her heart again, only sapping the energy from her further.

She felt herself begin to pant and eventually just gave up. She sat down with a 'thunk' and Rin squealed as she went sliding off the furry haunches onto the soft dirt. She whined and scrambled to her feet, and ran around to look Kisai in the face, her hands stroking the soft fur.

"Puppy what's wrong? Are you hungry or something? Lord Sesshomaru, can we find some lunch? I think we could all use a break anyway. Im hungry." Looking up at her master with wide and glowing eyes that struck straight at the heart, Rin turned on her patented adorable child charm and unleashed it on the absent minded male in the lead. He didn't even look at Rin, but stopped and made a 90 degree turn to walk off the side of the trail and stop beneath a flowering dogwood tree. Rin giggled and tugged gently on the scruff of Kisai's neck to guide her over to the tree next to Sesshomaru's; not wanting to get close enough to possibly make her master mad. Jaken followed Rin dutifully, looking over at the fluffy lord once in a while, as if to check for any signs that the silver haired male might be irritated with anything he was doing.

The whole group seemed too on edge for Kisai's taste but as soon as she was ushered into the shade of the tree, she collapsed onto her stomach and rested her head on her paws. The wheezing sound of the wind whistling through her throat like a flute was muffled slightly, but if anybody got close enough, they would most likely hear it. Kisai's crimson eyes followed the energetic footsteps of her scrawny ward and noted critically that the child was a little too skinny for her age and height. She seemed almost wraith-like as the checkered fabric of her little kimono fluttered around her legs as she danced around Ah-Un, collecting their lunches from a pack at the creature's back.

Her eyes drifted closed no matter how she fought it, the exhaustion of the last few days finally crashing in on her. She couldn't even rouse herself as Rin patted her head lightly, waving a chunk of something that smelled like cheese in front of her sensitive nose. The reprimanding sound of Sesshomaru's voice was the last thing she heard before she slipped below the black surface of unconsciousness where the ugly shadows of nightmares stalked her mind.

* * *

As he sat beneath the fragrant smelling tree and let his gaze trail after Rin as she doted on the dozing dog, his mind wandered to the fact that he was experiencing mild confusion and a note of irritation. Why he had even saved the female sleeping nearby? Kisai is what she called herself, but Sesshomaru was apt to call her a few different choice words that would make even the dirtiest of sailors blush. Emotions were not something that any full blooded demon was supposed to experience, for they weakened the resolve and distracted the fighter. It seemed that it was just a convulsion that prompted him to draw his sword and spook the imps that were trying to pry apart the chains that held Kisai's soul to her tattered body. He had gotten a piece of the cursed jewel for his trouble, but then he had also acquired the dog form of the one person who claimed any connection to Rin besides himself. Was he jealous? Of course not. He was Sesshomaru, and the only thing he wished to possess was the sword that his mud-blood brother was toting around at his hip. That's what he repeated to himself as he finally focused in on the world outside his scrambling thoughts as he heard the soft piping of Rin's voice as she called to Kisai's prone form.

"If you mess with it while it sleeps, the dog will bite you Rin. And then I'll have to kill it." He meant it as a warning to Rin that he would have to get rid of the dog should it try to hurt her, but Rin apparently interpreted it as an injustice to her furry pet. Her wide eyes filled to the rim with tears and she laid her head on the female demon's and wrapped her arms around her neck protectively.

"You really wouldn't hurt her would you? She's just a puppy and she's my new best friend! I want her to stay with us forever!" Her voice was low and wavering, her lower lip outthrust and trembling with the threat of hysterical sobs. Sesshomaru's eyes widened ever so slightly and he felt a strange sensation as blood drained from his already pale face. '_Hm, it seems Rin is attached to the obnoxious runt already. If I do end up killing the female then Rin will surely go into hysterics. Seems like my plan will need some more tweaking to make sure I don't cause the child any undue pain.'_ As they had walked from the killing field to their current position in the woods, he had played with the idea of dragging the demoness off into the woods and executing her without announcement or proper burial. However, with this sudden development of emotional attachment from Rin to the imposter canine, more discretion would have to be taken in dealing with this situation.

Instead of responding to the emotional plea, he merely closed his eyes and sighed softly through his nose. Holding out a hand, he accepted an apple that Jaken promptly dropped into his hand after a mad dash from where he was sitting.

"Ah here you are my Lord! Your favorite type of apple that Ive been keeping cool in a basket of ice from the mountains we left only a week ago!" The fawning way that Jaken groveled at Sesshomaru's feet only made the taste of the apple bitter in the male's mouth. He kicked the green imp in the face with enough force to send him flying through the air to the other side of the path. Rin was lost in her own little world with the sleeping dog, and so did not comfort Jaken as he came crawling back to her side like an injured bird as she usually did.

Feeling his blood heat up with low burning anger, Sesshomaru took a deep bite out of his apple and turned away from where his precious Rin petted and loved all over the dreaming daiyokai, observing the deep grooves his fangs left in the supple flesh.

* * *

Domination. Manipulation. Subjugation. These were the lightest of the words to describe the experience that would haunt the young woman no matter how much she ran from her past. Body crushing agony was how it started. Torture that was only to be surpassed by the end of her life on that fateful night. When her new 'Master' could not break her spirit with physical pain alone, he turned to emotional torture and mental blows. The things he pulled from her past. The faces of her family that he played before her eyes before ripping them to shreds and killing them in ways more horrible than any demon or human could possibly imagine was what finally broke her. At last he shattering her resistance to the dirty shard he had placed in her chest.

The shard. Control. The Shard. Control.

Kisai stood stark naked and alone in the middle of a pitch black room. She was vulnerable and trembling, blood streaming from her eyes like tears. Her arms were crossed over her chest in a futile attempt at modesty and decency. Naraku had stripped her bare and degraded her, just another part of his mental warfare. He had never touched her, but hovered around her, whispering and hissing, fueling the horror show dancing behind her clenched closed eyes.

"I control you. The shard will power your rage. I control you. I have your icon. The shard will connect us. I control you." His voice whispered and seemed to dance around her mind, first coming from far away, then originating right behind her ear. She trembled and shook in fear, sometimes watching the torture from far away, disembodied but still experiencing every emotion and feeling her own body mirror the reactions of the figure standing before her, other times seeing only the black insides of her own eyelids.

The Shard. Control. The Shard. Control.

The mantra of the damned. There was something missing. Something that was like a buzzing underneath the murmuring torture that was a constant agony. There was something wrong. The slow realization that this was merely a dream only intensified the buzzing in her ears, and scrambled the train of thought she was using to grasp at the glimmer of light in the distance. Her answer was in that sparkle. The whispering words of Naraku faded as the buzzing seemed to triple in intensity, even rattling her ribcage. She broke free, clothes slowly materialized as she chased after the flitting fairy of light. She tore after the tantalizing flicker of light, seeming to grow closer in only tiny increments, her mind racing all the while.

The Icon. Control. The Icon. Control.

"My Icon!" The screech that tore from her throat contained such raw animal panic that it woke her from the near comatose sleep that she had slipped into. Her body had refused to wake even through the appalling mixture of actual memory and warped recollection. The shock of the realization that made her cry out was strong enough to make her body jerk to its feet before her conscious mind had even forced her eyes open or registered that she was moving at all. She staggered and collapsed onto her side, vaguely realizing that someone was shouting her name in alarm.

Ever so slowly her reeling mind calmed down enough to let the memories of the last few hours filter through the grey haze that had settled over her brain. It was like dust clearing after an explosion. Soon the woman forced her eyes open and stared up into the tear streaked face of a young child that looked vaguely familiar. Something clicked within her muggy brain and everything rushed in on her like a tsunami.

"Rin!" She yelped, rolling onto her feet and staring at the tiny child in utter astonishment. She had sold something as precious to her as her soul to find the child, and had died in the process. Yet here she was, staring into the stunned eyes of the little one she had been trained to spend her life protecting. Sudden elation was extinguished by the blade of a sword pressed to her throat. Kisai gasped slightly as she looked down, and saw bare skin. She was no longer in her furry form, and stood in her blood soaked battle clothes and stood before a scowling dog demon who was obscuring her view of Rin. Rin was cowering behind the billowy pants of the taller male, tearful eyes full of confusion and fear. Kisai reached out with an imploring hand, her pale pink lips part as if to speak, only to let out a soft squeak as the tip of Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga bit into the weak skin of her just recently healed throat. Dark blood trickled down the Lilly white skin, swiveling around the puffy scars that announced where Kirara's fangs had punctured in her vicious attack.

"Sesshomaru…please…I just found her…" The words were cracked and wavering as her own crimson eyes were brimming with anguished tears. They seemed to have no affect on the male standing before her, his eyes dead and face an impassive and apathetic mask. The pressure on her throat neither abated nor increased so Kisai felt a momentary glimmer of hope. Her eyes flickered down to Rin's face, only to see a small abrasion on her left cheek. She felt the blood drain from her face as her eyes widened almost a whole inch more.

"That's right. You harmed the child, to ensure her safety, and for deceiving the both of us, I will take you to the edge of my territory and banish you for life. The next time you come into my range, I will have no chance other than to kill you where you stand." Despite the words, there was no anger in his words, or expressed in his face. There was only the dead cold assurance that he would follow through on his word until the end of days.

However, there was something off with what he was threatening. Why wouldn't he just kill her where they were? Was he afraid that Rin would be scarred by the intended assassination? She simply couldn't wrap her head around his reasoning, because she was almost positive that he meant to kill her. The terror in Rin's eyes seemed to fade and sadness replaced the majority of it as she looked up at her Lord.

"What…what did I-?"

"What did you do? What did you do to harm an innocent child who only meant to help you heal?" In any normal being, words like those would have been spoken in a nasty and condescending tone, typically accompanied by a sneer or a snarl of some sort. But of course Sesshomaru was the exception to many a rule concerning emotions. It was obviously a jab at the connection that Kisai could feel concerning Rin, and the woman lowered her head slightly, looking at the male's knees.

"Yes." Was all she said, knowing better than to antagonize the monotone male. He may have claimed that emotions never touched his mind, but the fact that he kept the little child at his side meant he could at least deal with them and understand their sources. She had a sort of inkling that underneath all that ego and bravado, there was a heart with at least some level of emotion. Knowing this much, she was not about to poke fun at a man who could decapitate her in one strike.

Seeming pleased with her apparent submission, Sesshomaru lifted his hand so that the blade of the sword forced her chin up, making her eyes lock onto his. "You were thrashing around in your sleep and Rin went to try and wake you out of human concern. Compassion is another pointless emotion seeing as when she approached, you lashed out, your rear paw catching her in the stomach and throwing her to the ground. Then you leapt to your feet after a snarl and promptly collapsed again. Following that you transformed into your usual form, and Rin tried to run past you, only to be caught by you as you regained consciousness."

Kisai simply stared with hurt anger as Sesshomaru spoke, burning with the urge to call him a liar, but the fear that she saw in Rin's eyes and the lack of the animated sparkle that one sees with lying in Sesshomaru's eyes convinced her that every word he spoke was nothing but the truth. A single tear left a trail down her dirty cheek as she looked helplessly at the man who was hell bent on snuffing out her life for an accident. She knew that protesting and stating that she could not control her actions while she was asleep would be pointless, so she merely looked down at Rin with a gentle smile on her face.

"Rin. I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. It was a nightmare. Im sure you have had them. About your ma and your dad. About when the wolves attacked. Im sorry about that too. I was supposed to be there. Supposed to protect them. Supposed to protect you too. My name is Kisai, the Dog Demon of the East, and your mother was a dear friend of mine. Im so sorry for-" Her words were cut off as the butt end of Sesshomaru's hilt struck her across the face.

"Enough. No more lies. They won't save your miserable life. Now come you sad, sad little Oni. It's time to die." Evidently Sesshomaru's patience had run its course and now it was time for the end game. Rin, however, had been staring up at the older female with round eyes full of a dawning realization. When Sesshomaru reached out to grab the staggering Kisai by the hair on the back of her head, Rin let out a keening cry and nearly tackled Sesshomaru's leg.

"Lord Sesshomaru please! Don't kill her! Shes the lady from the picture at my old home! My mama and papa used to tell me stories of the Guardian, and this lady looks just like the paintings in the story! Please don't kill her! My mama made me promise to keep her nearby and let her protect me…that was the day when the village was raided…" Tears were streaming down her gaunt little face as she squeezed her eyes closed and buried her nose against the back of his knee. Staring down at the child clasping his leg as if she were powerful enough to keep him from ripping the woman in his fist to shreds, Sesshomaru listened to the sobbing plea of the child he had saved not once, but twice. It seemed that no matter what he did for this child, she only wanted more. For a human, she was one of the most innocent and pure, but she was as needy as the others that he had met at times. He growled deep in the back of his throat and seemed to bristle for a moment before he restrained himself.

'_She is just a child. Remember that she is just a child. The female can be dealt with accordingly, but if you kill her no, then the child might very well run away. A promise to a parent is a serious thing, even to humans.' _Sighing heavily, he dropped the woman with a heavy thud and whirled on his heel to stalk off down the trail. Jaken had been silent throughout this whole altercation but stood trembling behind the back legs of Ah-Un. He now ran over and grabbed Rin's arm and tugged her away from the crumpled Kisai, and off to where Ah-Un was trailing after their master.

"W-wait…Jaken…what about Kisai?" Rin whimpered softly and looked from the little green imp and back to the woman who was struggling to sit up, her crimson eyes dull.

"Forget her for now, you foolish little child! If she cares about you so much then she will find us! But Lord Sesshomaru is so mad right now that he will surely leave us behind!" He whispered quickly as he continued to drag the onyx haired girl after the quickly fading forms of the Dog Lord and the steed-like demon.

"Bye…Kisai…find us okay?" Rin called back to the woman as she sat back onto her haunches and looked mournfully after the retreating group. What was she going to do now?

* * *

_oh no! Kisai finally found Rin and now shes being left behind! -sob- AND she lost her little heart...thinger. Alright guys ive got a request of ya! If you can let me know what shape her idol should be that would be a great help! :D thank you for reading! :)_


	8. Logic

_I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters etc, etc lol_

* * *

After Sesshomaru and the rest of his group had faded out of sight, Kisai sighed dejectedly and collapsed onto her side once more. There were no dreams this time as she passed out, only a deep and healing sleep as she sunk deep into the sea of unconsciousness. Eventually her mind bobbed to the surface and her eyes fluttered open. Sitting up slowly, she groaned and rubbed at her cheek bone gingerly, a large lump evidence of the blow that Sesshomaru had given as a parting gift.

Crimson eyes slowly focused as her pupils wavered, a splitting headache further complicating her attempts at locating where she was. Soon enough her eyes locked onto the trail that had led her to the place where she had simultaneously let her purpose slip through her fingers and realize that in a feverish haze, she had given away the icon that was more a part of herself than her physical heart was. Gritting her teeth together tightly, she clenched her fingers into fists and slammed them into the leaf littered soil in front of her. A strangled roar worked its way up her throat before she finally threw her head back and screamed at the sky, sitting back on her knees not unlike the night where her throat was shredded.

Growling savagely, she looked down at her palms, realizing that the claws that acted as her fingernails had punctured the pads of her hand. Raising her right hand above her head, she stared at the glittering droplets of dark blood as they dangled from the side of her hand like maroon raindrops waiting to fall to earth. Kisai's eyes suddenly focused past the blood onto the skyline dancing between the limbs of the trees across the trail. It was sunset. But of what day? How long had she been unconscious?

With her hand already on the mend, the female began to poke and prod at her body with light, clinical touches. Her ribs had finally healed and there were no longer even hints of scars around her throat where the feline's fangs had made their terrible artwork on her pale skin. Emotions and tears finally run dry, the demon's natural tendency to hyper-rationalize everything kicked in. As she shifted smoothly to her feet, she was already collecting the information of the last few days into a list of events, and soon into a neat little to-do list of death and destruction.

First thing was first. She would go and retrieve her sword from the elderly man and the miniscule flea demon. They would be on some higher peak that would be easy enough to identify, by smell if nothing else. Totosai's bovine friend had a very potent aroma to it, so as long as they had not bathed the demon any time in the last few days, then the creature would act as a locator beacon to the dog demon's extremely sensitive sense of smell.

Then, the weapon augmenting her already impressive level of power, she would track down the demon that smelled of dirt and old human remains and collect her stolen icon. Usually she would be a woman of her word and finish the task she had set out to do, but the hit on the male half demon was a dismal failure and she had been allowed to die. Such a betrayal nullified whatever contract she had with the baboon clad male, so she would collect the icon that was being held as collateral, whether it be by force or not. Personally, she hoped he would put up a fight so that she could return some of the pain that had been delivered unto her during her 'training' and subsequent attack onto the small group.

Following that, Kisai planned to promptly track down Sesshomaru and Rin and take the child into her own care. Should her fellow dog demon decide that the girl was his property and decided to fight for her, well, that would be something to deal with should that bridge need to be crossed. The truth was that Kisai was not sure if she could defeat the larger male or not. Naraku, the one that had been haughty enough to claim the title 'Master' was weak to the core, requiring the assistance of his many little castoffs instead of improving his own powers and skills. Sesshomaru, however, had proven himself quite capable in the little skirmish when they had first met, and she knew now that he was a cold hearted and apathetic bastard for at least the first few layers of his personality. Enough to not give a flying hoot over shredding her into multiple little bloody pieces.

Her mental list set into the stone of cold, logical mind now, a small smirk found its way onto the fanged mouth of the slim female. Things would go better now, she could feel it. There was a strange charge to the air that filled her with a tingling static that she could feel from her booted toes to the prickling skin on her scalp. Eyes alight and hair bristling eagerly, the woman gathered her energy around her trembling figure and burst into the air as a bright ball of light, heading towards the nearest peak.

* * *

Things were quite miserable in the little group as they shuffled along the darkening trail. It had been three days since Rin had seen the Guardian whose stories had filled her childhood of gleeful imaginary games and fantastical dreams. Her parents had always glowed with honest joy when they spoke of the times they used to spend with the one they called 'Ki-Ki'. Her mother was especially fond of the Guardian because the female demon had been her companion ever since her early childhood. Her husband, Rin's father, had only known the Guardian for a few years before Rin was born, but he had nothing but good things to speak of the woman, even if he did admit that he was a tiny bit scared of her sometimes. But then he would always wink and whisper to Rin that sometimes her mother scared him sometimes as well. To which the prompt reply of a smack to the back of the head would ensue.

The young girl's face was currently contorted into an expression of extreme distress and concentration as she fought to remember all the stories and pictures from that wonderful time in her early childhood. For some reason that time in her life seemed so far away, as if she was looking at those memories through a dirty window. She had barely spoken to either Jaken or Lord Sesshomaru. Neither seemed to mind, both preoccupied in their own thoughts or just content to walk along in silence. Ah-Un seemed to be the only restless one, its three heads growling and grunting to one another, as if discussing some great matter of importance between them.

The son of the Great Dog Demon himself was not lost in any deep contemplation, but was merely amusing himself by listening to the crunch of his soft boots against the leaves and gravel on which they walked. They were getting close to the coast by now, and the gritty little pebbles were accompanied by a light dusting of sun bleached sand and dry and crunchy leaves. It was late autumn now, and soon the stormy season would be hitting. He liked walking along the cliffs by the sea when it was storming, the raging sea and flickering lightning bolts somehow energizing the raw animalistic side of him with nature's brutality and unstoppable force. He was not awed by the sight, but merely could appreciate the power needed to throw such expansive waters into such disarray.

He simply refused to let the thoughts of the female demon and Rin's protective outburst to ruffle his calm. What was the point of it? The woman surely had better sense than to come anywhere near the group after his blunt announcement that he would kill her the very next time he laid eyes on her. Grunting, Sesshomaru blinked and realizing that by consciously thinking that he would not allow such thoughts to enter his mind, he had begun thinking about the situation anyway. He decided that it was probably better to face the problem face on now rather than let the thoughts fester in the back of his mind, possibly interfering with a fight at a later date.

He had saved her life, he still wasn't ready to think about why he might have done that without going through his usual process of thought, examining the ways he could use the situation to his advantage. He had no real use to him, though he had gotten a perfectly good shard out of it in the end. Now his little black haired ward was not speaking in the usual near-constant flow of bird-like chatter, though she did not seem to be angry or purposefully ignoring him. If she had been doing something as insulting as that, he surely would have scolded her, but so far he had found no need to do such. He could admit that he was mildly irritated that he had let her form such an attachment as she had. He should have refused the girl's request to keep the mongrel demon with them, thus preventing any bond to form between the child and the hopeless emotional wreck that was the red eyed Kisai.

How a demon could even allow emotions to rule as Kisai did was beyond his understanding. True, he occasionally felt the burn of fury or the twinge of irritation when he was dealing with his brother, or when Rin was being incredibly childish and annoying. However, sadness and happiness were emotions he could not understand, no matter how many times little Rin had wracked her infantile brain for proper metaphors and similes to possibly explain to the male the complexities of the range of emotions that she could experience. Eventually he would become bored and would just tune her out, continuing on his walk as he always did. Sometimes she would continue talking, unaware that he was no longer even pretending to pay attention to her words, but most of the time she would simply divert her attention to Jaken who appeared to understand a little more of what she was saying than Sesshomaru himself did. This kind of conjecture was pointless, however, because he was sure to never see the woman again, and if he did, his pride would require him to end her life immediately.

As his mind played through the scene that would end in a bloody heap lying at his feet, a strange twinge run through the pit of his stomach. He shook it off, however, letting it slide as the anticipatory adrenaline rush through his system in anticipation to a fight between two dog demons. He had never battled any of his own kind; his brother did not count because his demon blood was muddied with the life force of a human as well.

Rumbles in the distance caught his attention and drug him out of his thoughts, causing his eyes to flicker to the right. His sight was still obscured by the trees, but the oppressive feeling in the air hinted at a storm building over the ocean, and a big one by the way the thunder vibrated in his rib cage. Perhaps finding some sturdy shelter wouldn't be such a bad idea. He would find no problem continuing to travel in a storm, but Rin was a fragile human and would succumb to even the lightest illness and cold.

"Jaken, find us some suitable shelter for the night. Make sure there is a food source and water nearby, for we may be staying there for a day or two." He didn't even bother to turn his head as he spoke, still continuing his easy stride. Jaken nearly jumped out of his skin as he nodded and replied in his squeaking voice that he would do so at once, and bolted down the trail and around a corner. Rin didn't even notice the loss of her green companion, but continued to run her mental catalogue of all memories pertaining to the silver haired woman they had left behind.


End file.
